After knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, the New England Patriots were flying high coming into Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.
And then they got their wings clipped by two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Lamar Jackson in a 37-26 loss.
It was a tough day for the Patriots in a game where the defense fell completely flat. Jackson had them on skates throughout the afternoon, and tight end Mark Andrews was seemingly unstoppable when matching up against New England’s secondary.
It didn’t help matters that Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was a turnover machine on offense. The second-year starter threw three picks as things just seemingly got away from a Patriots team that had four turnovers in total.
But it wasn’t all bad news.
The offense looked great in the first half with Jones completing multiple deep throws. Wideout DeVante Parker, who has been quiet for the first two games, came alive in a big way with five receptions for 156 yards. Coming into the game, he only had one catch for nine yards.
There was a scary moment late with Jones going down with a leg injury and limping back to the locker room late in the fourth quarter. So that’ll be something to monitor in the coming days.
Appears Mac Jones was in a lot of pain as he was helped to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/6rgEOiFiLV
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 25, 2022
Overall, the game was actually closer than the scoreboard indicates, and the Patriots had real opportunities to beat the Ravens. But similarly to their loss against the Miami Dolphins, they made far too many mistakes and dug a hole too deep to climb out of late in the game.
Things won’t get any easier in Week 4 with a trip to Lambeau Field on tap to face quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
